National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 13100‑3:2026. It supersedes BS EN 13100‑3:2004, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee WEE/3, Welding of thermoplastic moulded components.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 August 2026.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 19 July 2026.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 13100‑3:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 249 “Plastics”, the secretariat of which is held by SIS.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2027, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by February 2027.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 13100‑3:2004.

EN 13100‑3:2026 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 13100‑3:2004:

the referenced standards have been updated, the figure showing the examination volume for electrofusion joints has been revised and it has been specified that the setting of range and sensitivity shall be carried out if the temperature of the joints being examined changes by more than 10 °C.

The EN 13100 series, under the general title Non-destructive testing of welded joints in thermoplastics semi-finished products, consists of the following parts:

Part 1: Visual examination;
Part 2: X-ray radiographic testing;
Part 3: Ultrasonic testing;
Part 4: High voltage testing.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

1 Scope

This document specifies methods for the manual ultrasonic examination of heated tool, electrofusion, extrusion and hot gas joints in plastics materials. It applies to joints in single wall pipes and plates. The range of thicknesses covered is from 10 mm to 100 mm.

This document does not specify acceptance levels of the indications.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Symbols and abbreviated terms

5 General

6 Information required prior to examination

6.1 Examination procedure

6.2 Information required by the operator

6.3 Written examination procedure

7 Requirements for personnel and equipment

7.1 Personnel qualifications

7.2 Equipment

7.3 Probe parameters

8 Examination volume

9 Preparation of scanning surfaces

10 Range and sensitivity setting

10.1 General

10.2 Reference level

10.3 Evaluation levels

10.4 Transfer correction

10.5 Signal-to-noise ratio

11 Examination technique

11.1 Standard ultrasonic techniques

11.2 Location of indications

11.3 Evaluation of indications

12 Examination report

12.1 General

12.2 Equipment

12.3 Technique

12.4 Results

Bibliography